Plymouth Argyle boss Ian Foster is over the moon with the impact Ashely Phillips has had since his loan move to the club last month, backing the Tottenham man to continue improving as he gets more experience under his belt.
Phillips, who was signed by Spurs last summer after a breakthrough season at Blackburn Rovers, might have been disappointed not to get any opportunities during the first half of the season, particularly given the injuries that Ange Postecoglou was dealing with.
The Lilywhites made the decision to loan the youngster out to the Plymouth so that he could get competitive action under his belt and the 18-year-old has instantly established himself as a vital cog in the Pilgrims backline.
While Phillips has primarily operated on the right side of a back three for the Championship side, Foster decided to move him to the central role for the clash against Leeds on Saturday, with the on-loan Spurs man giving a good account of himself even though his side fell to a 2-0 loss.
Ashley Phillips is going to get better and better
When asked about the decision to change the youngster’s position, Foster told PlymouthLive: “We are really pleased with Ashley. Moving him centrally gave us an opportunity to limit his distance. So when you play centrally in a back three you do less running than you do as the outside centre-back.
“It was a little bit tactical and a little bit physical with that decision. We have got the balance of Lewis playing on the left. I thought he (Phillips) performed really well.
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“He’s just going to get better and better. It’s our job while he’s here to continue to develop him, make him a better player, give him the experiences he’s getting but his performances have been fabulous.
“He’s capable of playing as a right or left-sided centre-back in a back four or anywhere across the back three. Ashley has struggled late in some games because he’s getting muscle soreness and cramps so the opportunity to move him centrally, we know he’s capable of.
“He understands the role, it’s slightly different than playing off the side but he’s a young player who is capable of taking on tactical information and then implementing it on the grass.”
Spurs Web Opinion
The experience of playing in different positions at this age will be quite handy for Phillips’ development. However, the centre-back role in Postecoglou’s system has very specific requirements and I doubt playing as part of Plymouth’s back three will help the teenager too much in his quest to adapt to the role at Spurs.
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